Rubber wheel-tire.



, PATENTED AUG. 7, i906. H. G, OSBURN. I RUBBER WHEEL TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1900.

roadway.

nnirn s'rarns Planar cr mes. HARRY e. OSBURN, or HQBOKEN, NEW JERsEY.

RUBBER WHEEL-TIRE. I

Specification of Letters latent.

. Patented Aug. 7, 1906.;-

Appl'ication filed August 17, 1900. Serial No. 27,139.

the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification.

My invention relates to a rubber tire for vehicle-wheels, my object being to provide a form of tire which will obviate the objections incident to such tires as commonly employed 1n practice.

It has been a common practice in the con struction of wheel-tires heretofore to employ upon the periphery of the folly of the wheel a channel-bar having outwardly-flaring flanges between which the base of the pneumatic tire is secured. When the tire is punctured or for other reason becomes deflated, the rubher tire rests against the sharp edges of the flanges, and as the wheel travels over the road way the flanges thus cut and mutilate the tire. Moreover, the flanges are themselves bent and injured by contact with the rough his one obj ect.of the present invention to provide a construction of wheel-tire such that when for any reason the tire becomes deflated the same will not be injured when thevehicle is operated. In accordance with this feature of'my invention I'provit'e the periphery of the felly of the wheel with a smooth and even surface, so that when the tire becomes deflated the flexible parts thereof may rest 1 against the smooth surface and the injury to the tire thus avoided.

In order that there may be no solid portions of the wheel to projcct beyond the periphery to thereby become deranged and injured, I provide all of the con necting devices for securing the tire in position wholly within the outer periphery of the folly of the wheel. By the term follyas employed in the claims appended hereto I contemplate the solid portions of the Wheel as the wooden and metallic parts comprising the rim of the wheel as distinguished from the rubber or flexible parts which constitute the tire.

wheel. l Thus if the tire becomes punctured or deflated instead of running the vehicle with the deflated tire the rubber tire ma be entirely removed. When the tire of a w eel on one side of the, vehicle becomes deflated, the running of' the vehicle would in many cases be objectionable, since one wheel would thus be of less diameter than the other. Ac 'cordingly the tires of both wheels may be removed and both wheels used without the tires, the fastening devices for the tireslending themselves to the ready removal of the tires. The tires can be again placed in position without difliculty.

In tires of'the class in which a channel-bar is provided within which the tire fits special tools are necessary to stretch the tire to'pass the same over the edge of the flange ofthe bar. In the present invention the tube fits around a smooth ielly having no projecting flan es or parts necessitating the stretching of t 1e tube or tire. In very large tires the structure becomes unyielding on account-of the mass of rubber employed and the stretching of these large tires to pass the same over the flange becomes very difficult. construction large tires may be passed into position without stretching the tire.

When the channel-bar is employed for hold-i ing the tire, the greatest wear comes upon the tire where the same 'engages the edges or the flanges oi the bar, and the tire is in time out or worn away at this point. By doing away with the flanges entirely I avoid this objection. The covering of the tire instead of bending about any sharp edge when the tire is compresssed merely rocks, as it were, upon the fastening-wires as pivots and the cutting tendency is thus entirely removed. Moreover, in order to reduce the cutting or wearing eflect to a minimum the tire must be kept as tightly inflated as possible, thereby impairin the yieldingness'of the wheel and the smoot ness of running. In my tire the tire may be used as tightly blown as desired with out injury thereto 'from cutting, since there are no sharp flanges against which the tube can rest.

Where the wheel is used as the drivingwheel of a self-propelled vehicle, thereis reat tendency of the tire to creep, and it has been necessary to provide lugs tolimit the movemerit of the tire relatively to thewheel. In my structure since the edges of the tire-cover With myr the tire depends practically upon the area of struction'.

.power and resiliency, with the some .enabled to provi the cross-section which is above the chord drawn through the upper edges of the flanges, this being the portion of the tire which can readily yield, while that portion of the tire which fits within the seat and is situated below the chord passing through the upper edges of the flanges is held more or less rigidly in position and is thus incapable of yielding under pressure to thereby lend resiliency to the tire. Since'the rubber of a tire will stand a definite pressure, it is necessary when an increased weight is to besup ported by the tire to increase the cross-section of the tire, thereby permitting the employment of a larger body of air to accommodate the increased weight. It is thus apparent that the most efficient and economical form of tire will be that in which the greatest amount of cross-sectional area of the tire is situated above the seat or support of the tire and in which the tire possesses the largest possible cross-sectional area for the given amount of rubber employed in its comv In accordance with the present invention instead of forming the inflatable tiibe with circular cross-section I cut away the inner segment of the cross-section which us uz'tlly rests in the seat, leaving the portion of the tire which rests against the seat flattoned, 'wl'ierebv the cross-sectionpresents the appearance-of a partial. circumference and the chord of the removed segment. The rubber which is thus saved may be put into the tire to providenn increased cross-section, or, if omitted, th tire may be formed with less rubber. Sir do at lre as thus constructed has practically the same eflective depth above the seat as" ahircular tire, the resiliency is not mate l y impaired. I am thus a the ofequal resiliency on antity'of rul ber or to provide a tirt, of eater cross-section, and consequently greater sustaining quanby the employment (if a les tity of rubber.

A further and specific feature of thcf resent'invention is the employment of t'ei either pneumatic or of solid rubber, wherein the felly of the wheel is located wholly withinllt the tire, whereby the felly is wholly or alq' most completely hid from view within the tire. This arrangement affords a neat ap-' pearancc and a substantial structure. I do not limit my invention, however, in all its forms to the employment of this feature.

l have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a cross-section of the device of my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views of modifications of the device of my invention, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the device of my invention.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a felly a, provided with a periphery or band I), having a convex exterior. The rubber tire c is adapted to rest upon this band and is contained within a casing cl. This casing may be made of can yes or any other suitable material and preferably consists of a double layer, formed from one piece, and is held upon the folly by means of wires e 6. These wires are held in place by means of the plate m. The plate m and the band I) are fastened to the felly by means of bolts g. A mass of felt k is interposed between the tire c and the'casing d,

which give a firm body to the tire and renders it puncture-proof.

Fig. 2 shows a modification of my invention, in which the tire c is made larger and fitted about the folly and the amount of felt correspondingly altered. I v

Fig. 3 shows another. modification of my invention, in which the ordinary form of puncture-preof tire, which hasa small amount of felt or other material between the casing and the tire at the point of contact with the ground,- is used. The felly is on the inside of the tire andthe casings secured in the same manner as in Figs. 1 and 2.

,Having described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is i 1. In a wheel, the combination with a rim,

comprising a felly having a metallic tire.

thereon, of a tire inclosing' said rim said rim projecting into-said tire and having its tread and sides cushioned thereby, and means for securing said tire to said rim.

2. In a wheel, the combination with a rim, comprising a fell having a metallic tire thereon, of a flexi le tire inclosing said rim, and means for securing said flexible tire to the inner periphery of said rim, said rim projecting into said tire and having its tread and sides cushioned thereby.

3. In a wheel, the combination with a rim, comprising a felly, having a metallic tire thereon, of a flexible tire inclosing said rim, and a plurality of plates securing the tire upon the inner periphery of said rim, said rim projecting into said tire and having its tread and sides cushioned thereby.

In a wheel, the combination with a rim comp: isin a felly having a metallic tire thereo T o a tube surrounding the periphery of sar. ally, a casing surrounding said tube Ioo v thereof.

and exiending to the inn feliy, means for sec-min felly, and a packin tube and said casing edges of said feily all-(i. -=1

GEOSBURN.

In. Witness whereof i M in the presence of two wit- 

